Much can be learned about a king by studying his kingdom. In this regard, the Scripture reveals that the kingdom of Christ is not of this world. In the eighteenth chapter of John, we find Pilate questioning Jesus on some key points:
Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” “Is that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “or did others talk to you about me?” “Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “It was your people and your chief priests who handed you over to me. What is it you have done?” Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.” “You are a king, then!” said Pilate. Jesus answered, “You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” (John 18:33–37).
In this passage, the Greek word used for kingdom is basileia (bas-il-i’- ah), which means “royalty”; abstractly, it relates to rule, but more specifically it pertains to a realm. When Jesus said that His kingdom is not of this world, He meant it in every sense. Jesus’ human lineage may have been from a royal line (see See Isaiah 9:7 and Luke 1:32, 33), but His authority to rule is not of this world; it is from a source infinitely more powerful than any human government could establish. While Satan is permitted to rule here for the time being, Christ will one day return and take up His rightful place on earth, and the devil will be dethroned (See Ephesians 2:2 regarding Satan’s level of rule, and Revelation 12:9 for the devil’s dethroning).
Today, we can find peace in the fact that God is working out His plan, in His time. Regardless of what might come our way in this lifetime, our heavenly Father is in charge!
Learn more about Jesus as King in my new book, The Conditioned Mind.
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